Fabric



Aug.. 5, i933 A. A, GCBEILLE FABR I C Filed April 7, 1932 ,/'fgs 62Patented Aug. l5, 1933 PATENT OFFICE FABRIC Alfred A. Gonnie, shannoek,a. i., wimmto Columbia Narrow Fabric Company, Shamrock, It. I., aVoluntary Association of Rhode Island Application April "l, 1932. SerialNo. 603,723 4 claim. (ci. 13s-m) The invention relates to a woven fabrichaving elastic threads, of some material such as rubber or the like,interwoven therein and has for one of its objects to provide such afabric of relatively thin or sheer material. Another object of thisinvention is to utilize the relatively fine rubber thread known as latexor lastex which is exuded or spun and is round 4in cross section and toprevent the same from creepv ing. in a fabric in which it is woven asone of` the component threads extending yin one direction.

j Another object of this invention is to provide .f

a fabric which -will be primarily elastically extendible in onedirection but will also be secondarily elastically extendible in adirection atri' right angles thereto.

A further object of this invention is to twist some ofthe 'strandsthemselves to cause them" to bind the elastic strands and by thismethod-.f maintain the elastic strands in desired position.

A still further object of this invention is -the plaiting or shirring ofa fabric by means of elastic strands woven therein rather than byaseparate operation in an additional machine after the fabric comes fromthe loom.

With these and other' objects in view, the in vention consists ofcertain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described.and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a fragmental portion of the fabricembodying this'invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating certain of the rightangularly extending strands thereof, two strands with a right hand twistadjacent each other, alternating with two strands of a left hand twist.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modification showing one strandof right hand twist alternating with one strand of left hand twist.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic sectional view across the cloth showing thehighly twisted strands extending over and under strands at right anglesthereto.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 after the stretching of the weavinghas been released.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the rubber latex thread with acoverthereon.

Figs. 7 and 8 are side elevations of relatively non-elastic threads, onetwisted in a right hand direction and the other twisted in a left handdirection. l

I use this invention especially in fabrics having some of thestrandshighly twisted, such as thin or sheer fabrics as crepe-de-Chine,chiffon, georgette, etc., although other materials having similarcharacteristics, as will be more fully explained, may be used.

For one illustrative embodiment of this invention I have shown acrpe-de-Chine fabric in which I employ` a group of plurality of strands10 of relatively non-elastic yarn and a smaller group of a plurality ofstrands 11 of elastic material Y. suchf asrubber, latex or lastex, asnow known in ,the trade.l I have shown the elastic strands 1landnon-elastic strands 10 in groups, although it will be understood thata single strand may a1- ternate with one or more elastic strands asdesired as shown in Fig. 3, depending upon the partic'ular results orstructure of fabric which is to be formed. The latex thread is a strandwhich is exudedor spun from rubber material and is substantially roundin eromsection and may be covered'with a'. winding 12 of some relativelynonelastic textile material and usually of the same 'kind of materialwith which it is to be woven. In the Acrpe-de-Chine material, which Ihave shown, the elasticstrands ll and the non-elastic strands V10 havesubstantially no twist therein.

The strands 14 extend generally at right angles to the strands 10 and 11and are of relatively non-elastic material and of the same kind ofmaterial as the non-elastic strands 10, but differ-from the strands 10by being relatively highlyff-t'wisted. This relatively high twist causesthese 'strands `14 to bind the strands at right angles thereto.especially the elastic strands, with which they: are interwoven. 4

In weaving, the component parts are under tension, as represented inFig. 4, but as the'tension is released the highly twisted strand drawthe strands about which they are woven close to gether as illustrated inFig. 5 of the drawing to bind them in position.

A binding action satisfactory under some conditions will be had wherethe strands 14 are all twisted in the same direction, but I find that abetter binding actionA is had where some of the ioo strands 15aretwisted Awith a right hand twist in one direction and other strands16 are twisted with a left hand twist in the opposite direction. I mayuse one strand 15 having a right hand twist and another strand 16 havinga left hand twist next "thereto and alternate these strands 15 and 16throughout the fabric or the` strands may be in groups of two right handtwists and two left hand twists or there may be three or four or more inthe group or the structure may bevprovided with a lesser number in thegroup having left hand twisted strands than in a group having right handtwisted strands, depending released it will pucker in the form of usualcrepe, and as;y illustrated in Fig. 1, laterally extending wrinkles orfolds will be formed by contraction of the elastic strands to form aplaited fabric, with the elastic strands being straight or unf puckeredand forming stripes inthe fabric. Also by reason of the highly twistedyarns running at right fangles to the elasticl strands, a stretch may behad to a more limited extent in the direction at right angles to thesestrands, and thus a fabric which may stretch in two right angularlyextending directions is provided.

In fabric which I have illustrated the elastic strandsor the highlytwisted strands may be either warp or filling threads, as in thestructure which I have shown it is not material whether the rubbers bewarps or wefts. It is often preferable however that the elastic strandsbe the warp threads and the highly twisted strands the filling threads,and I have so adopted this relation in the structure shown.

It is found that highly twisted thread,` especially where twisted inopposite directions as above shown, provides a crepe in which the rubberupon several stretchings of the fabric will not creep or move withreference to the other strands with which it is associated but ratherthe twist tightly binds these rubbers intheir position in the fabric.

The above illustrative description of the relatively non-twisted warpthreads and the highly twisted filling threads define a particularembodiment of the invention for crpe-de-Chine where a puckering of thefabric is desired. Other uses of the invention would be for georgette orchiffon or of such sheer fabrics in which the variation from thecrepe-de-Chine would involve relatively highly twisting, the non-elasticwarp threads as well as the non-elastic filling threads, the non-elasticthreadsbeing of the same material and having substantially the sameamount of twist placed therein per inch of length.

I have found that the twist which it is best to use for the materialwhich I have described is between 45 and 75 turns per inch, althoughAresults in conformity in the teachings of this invention may be obtainedwith strands having a greater range of twists, such as for instancebetween three and a hundred five twists per inch, it being-understoodthat the greater the twist per inch, the greater the binding on therubber strands in the fabric to prevent their creeping.

In the forming of crpe-de-Chine, which I have above cited as anillustrative embodiment of this invention, the same is frequently formedby weaving raw silk or silk containing a gum in its structure, and whenthis raw silk and rubber strands are woven together in an arrangement asabove described, and then the fabric is taken from the loom, the Vsameis substantially fiat as the gummed or raw silk prevents the contractionof the rubber strands to a substantial extent. However, after this wovenfabric is treated in its finishing process such as by degumming, byboiling or similar treatment, thensilk being then relieved of thisstifl'ening gum will contract and a fabric is obtained which ispuckered,plaited or shirred by reason of the contraction of the rubbers. 'I'hismeans of obtaining this product is simplified materially from theprevious method of ,passing the fabric through an additional operation,such as a sewing machine or the like with a special plaiting attachmentto cause'the fabric to assume this form, and thus I improve `when madeinto' garments, it will lstretch and snugly flt the body which isdesirable for many uses.

From the above it `will be observed that I may use the relatively fineor small diameter rubber strands of circular formation, such as thelatex or lastex, and weave a sheer or thin fabric embodying anymaterials, the strands of which may be twisted although the invention ismore particularly adapted for silk, spun silk or rayon.

'I'he foregoing description is directed solely towards the constructionillustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve theprivilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the deviceis susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by theterms of the appended claims.

This case is directed to a species of shirred fabric, broader claimsbeing contained in applicant's co-pending case Ser. No. 625,347.

I claim:

1. A shirrable material comprising groups of raw silk threads containinggum and groups of rubber threads under tension, said groups of rubberthreads being more widely spaced than the groups of the silk threadsthereby leaving shirrable material between the groups of rubber threads,said silk threads being sufficiently close together to hold said rubberthreads under tension and said rubber threads being capable of shirringthe material between said group of rubber threads when said gum isremoved.

2. A shirrable material comprising groups of highly twisted raw silkthreads containing gum and groups of rubber threads under tension, saidgroups of rubber threads being moreI Widely spaced than the groups -ofsilk threads thereby leaving shirrable material between the groups ofrubber threads, said silk threads being sufficiently close together tohold said rubber threads un' der tension and said rubber threads beingcapable of shirring the material between said group of rubber threadswhen said gum is removed.

3. A method of forming a shirred material which consists in weavinggroups of raw silk threads and groups of rubber strands under tensionwith the raw silk threads being sufllciently close together to hold therubber strands under tension to form a relatively flat fabric when takenfrom the loom and with the groups of rubberl threads being more widelyspaced than the groups of silk threads leaving shirrable materialbetween the groups of rubber threads, and then de. gumming the raw'silkthreads to permit the rub ber threads to draw lthe fabric together toshirr the same.

4. A shirrable material comprising groups of. raw silk threadscontainingnatural gum and spaced rubber threads under tension, saidrubber threads being more widely spaced than the groups of raw silkthreads thereby leaving shirrable material between the rubber threads,said silk threads being sumciently close together to hold said rubberthreads under tension and saidl rubber threads being capable of shirringthe material between said rubber threads when said gum' is removed. l

ALFRED A.

iso

